Marijuana activists who have longed for decades to end America's drug war pocketed more major victories in the midterm elections Tuesday, with Oregon and the nation's capital approving recreational pot use.

The advocates believed they also had another win, in Alaska, as a legal pot measure held a steady lead.

The only major loss for drug-law reformers came in Florida and even there, a medical marijuana proposal earned 58 percent - just shy of the 60 percent required to pass.

The victories came in a midterm election that saw a low turnout and an electorate that handed Republicans back control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2006. The results emboldened marijuana activists as they prepare legalization efforts in California, Massachusetts, Maine and other states in the next presidential election year.

"We're starting work right now for 2016," said Joe Brezny, who's leading a campaign to legalize marijuana in Nevada. "The other side is in trouble if we're doing this well in a Republican midterm year."